


Lady Justice

by meltinglacier



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Character Death, Episode Related, Gen, POV Female Character, POV First Person, Revenge, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-13
Updated: 2012-12-13
Packaged: 2017-11-21 01:44:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/592038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meltinglacier/pseuds/meltinglacier
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This man killed my mother. It's only right, only fair, that the same thing should happen to him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lady Justice

**Author's Note:**

> Cross posted to ff.net.

This man killed my mother. It's only right, only  _fair_ , that the same thing should happen to him.

No one blames me for wanting revenge, but it's funny how they get so squeamish if I try to act out this desire.

I get it: people can't just go around killing whoever they want. That's wrong. But he murdered my mother, and he deserves it.

They say justice is blind. Or maybe that's love. In any case, I'm not, and all I can see in front of me is a man that deserves death.

I've never forgiven him. Maybe I'm supposed to have done so by now, like there's some kind of expiration date on how long I'm allowed to care that my mother's dead. Maybe after a certain age, it's expected that I'm supposed to quietly put the past behind me and carry on with my life. I've never done so, and I never will.

Oh, I know that people have gone through worse than I have, but that doesn't make my suffering any less important. I know that Aang has lost his whole nation, but at least he saw them dead long after the deed, when the sun had bleached their bones and dried up the blood.

He's never had to run as fast as he could toward his house, hoping desperately that his mother's still alive, and knowing that it's his fault if she's not. He's never had to see her lying on the ground, dead, her body burned and broken. He's never had to scrub at her betrothal necklace, cleaning it of blood and ash.

And yet, Aang knows of death. He's going to have to kill the Fire Lord. We all know it, but no one talks about. So how can he tell me not to take revenge? It's justice right?

Anyone who kills should be ready to be killed.

The man falls to the ground, sniveling. I can see what kind of man he is. A coward. This just makes me angrier, and I tell him what I have always wanted to. That my mother died  _protecting_  the last Waterbender. Me.

This is the last chance for me to turn back. I can still stop the ice from impaling him.

But I don't.

A splatter of blood hits my cheek. He makes a choked gurgle that I can barely hear over the involuntary cry ripped from Zuko's throat.

He's dying. He lays there on the ground, blood seeping into the ground. He doesn't make any noise. He can't, because there's a spike of ice protruding from his open mouth. Even if I felt any regret, it's too late to save him.

I don't look at him as he lays there. Instead, I meet Zuko's horrified gaze. I realize that he had never really thought that I would actually kill that man.

Everyone thinks that I'm the good one of the group. Sweet, motherly Katara. I'm the one that you can depend on to be the voice of reason. Well, I'm not so nice on the inside. I'm just as bad as Azula – maybe worse, because Azula has no morals, but I do, and I have chosen to ignore them.

But now Zuko can see that I'm festering on the inside, holding close the emotions that are making me sick.

There must still be blood on my face. I can feel it trickling down my cheeks in salty rivulets.

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, I've heard people say that they don't like Katara's attitude during 'The Southern Raiders.' I do though. It provides a lot of opportunity for character development and examination. I like that we get to see a not-so-nice side to her. I've always liked the idea of 'what if Katara hadn't stopped her ice spikes?' Because really, the way that man would have died is quite dark for a cartoon. So, review and tell me what you think of this.


End file.
